Lonely Rock: Love Songs Dedicated to the Stars

"Let's give it a try, it might work," Yuma encouraged them at the right time. "I'll go prepare the materials and we'll do it together."

"Then let's do it!"

Kita stood between Ryo and Pochi, raising their hands. They were full of energy again.

We hope there won't be a typhoon tomorrow. Yu-ma, Hoshika, and PA are all sincerely praying for these children.

Chapter 19 Performance and Celebration Banquet

The teru teru bozu (Japanese sunny dolls) that everyone made hung inside the exhibition hall, swaying back and forth. However, the typhoon wasn't stopped by the bozu; instead, it changed its path and brought a heavy rain.

The doors to the performance hall opened, and the sound of rain outside could be clearly heard. Yuzhen ran in from outside and quickly closed the door. The performance hall was deserted and the atmosphere was oppressive today, because it was raining, the air was a little damp, and it was somewhat stuffy.

PA saw Yuuma come in and brought him a towel. He took the towel, wiped his head casually, thanked PA, hung the towel up again, and then walked over to Hoshika.

"Didn't you sleep well? Why are you lying here?" He sat down next to Xingge.

Xingge sat at the bar, her arms crossed on the table, her head buried in the space between her arms and body.

"None of your business. Aren't you opening the shop today?" Her voice sounded a little muffled, as if she had just been crying. It was probably because of Hongxia and the others; she was thinking that all their efforts to end the band might be in vain, which was why she was like this.

"The typhoon's coming, so there probably won't be any customers. We'll be closed today," Yuzhen replied. Then he took out a tissue from his pocket and handed it to Xingge. "I have tissues here, do you need some?"

"It's none of your business. Besides, I didn't cry."

He didn't say anything more, but pinched Xingge's exposed fingertip. Only after she pulled her finger away did Youzhen get up and walk towards the rehearsal room.

The band that was most affected by the typhoon must have been the ones who had worked so hard to prepare for today. Yuzhen thought she should go and check on them.

"My friends said they can't come."

Hongxia's voice sounded frustrated.

"Me too."

Even Kita wasn't as energetic as usual.

A heavy rainstorm swept away everyone's good mood.

"How is the situation?"

Yuma knocked on the door, then pushed it open and walked into the rehearsal room, where she saw the band members who were in a bad mood.

"Brother, will anyone come to see the show today?"

“There will definitely be people coming, but probably not many,” he said frankly. “A few bands aren’t coming today, so their fans probably won’t come either.”

"I see."

“But I just said, people will come.” Yuzhen pulled up a chair and sat down. “You’re upset because your friends and family can’t come? That won’t do. It’s normal for a newly established band to encounter this kind of thing. My band’s first show only had a few people in attendance.”

The four looked at him, seemingly very interested in Yuuma's past.

"Don't look at me like that. I'll tell you later if you want to hear it." Yuzhen waved her hand, then her expression became serious. "What I want to say is very simple: becoming famous overnight is just wishful thinking. Maybe no one came here for you today, but so what? Just try a little harder, and maybe they'll come for you next time."

Although telling them this now might sound like empty promises, it's probably exactly what they need right now. Yuzhen has given them a small goal, so they have direction.

"Alright, get to rehearsal." He was already at the door when the band finished their chant to boost morale. "I'm looking forward to your debut."

Yuma left the rehearsal room, leaving the last moments for them.

Guests have started arriving at the performance hall, but there are only a few people. As expected, only a minority are willing to brave the heavy rain to watch the performance.

Xingge was sitting at the reception desk by the entrance, greeting guests, but hardly anyone came anymore, so she didn't have much to do. Youzhen saw her and walked over, casually picking up a folding chair and placing it next to her before sitting down.

"How are they?" Xingge noticed that Youzhen had put away her phone after sitting down next to her.

"They're doing alright, they're really motivated right now."

"That's good. It must be a big setback for them to encounter something like this on their first appearance."

"I still have tissues, and if you still want to cry, you can lean on my shoulder."

"I didn't cry!"

The two women were still bickering when the band came out of the rehearsal room. They wanted to check out the situation outside first.

"Ah, what a heavy rain!" Hiroi burst into the performance hall, drunkenly leaning on the stair railing, her umbrella carelessly tossed aside. "Senpai, I'm here."

Yuzhen and Xingge were about to say something to her when she spotted Boqi observing customers in the corner. She then raised her hand and greeted Boqi, "Boqi-chan! I'm here!"

Her shout drew the attention of the few customers in the exhibition hall, who then followed her gaze to Boqi, whose features were beginning to contort in the corner. Hongxia quickly stepped in front of Boqi and pulled her away.

"Big, big sister is here too?" Pochi's facial features were still contorted and hadn't recovered, but she still managed to greet Hiroi in front of her.

Yuma recalled Hiroi mentioning that she had been doing street performances with an interesting guitarist, and later Pochi also mentioned doing street performances with a bassist who loved to drink. "So, the one you were doing street performances with was Pochi."

"She's really great."

"Indeed, he is a very talented child."

"Hehehe, no way." Boqi, who was standing to the side, became smug again after hearing Hiroi and Yuma's praise.

Hongxia glanced at Boqi, then at Yuma and Xingka who were talking to Hiroi, and felt that she was the only one who knew nothing.

"Do you know?"

"Oh right, I forgot to mention. She was my junior in college."

Xingge cleared up Hongxia's doubts.

"I didn't go to the same university as them; I met Hiroi later."

Yuma also explained her relationship with Hiroi.

"I remember now, my older sister went to Houbun University, and my older brother went to Waseda University."

"Huh?! That's amazing! Kenzaki-nii graduated from Waseda University?" Kita was very supportive, giving Yuuma the most emotional support.

"Oh, why bring this up again? It's all in the past."

Although he was still saying that, Yuzhen couldn't hide the smile on his face. It really felt great to show off in front of his junior.

"Ah, it's Little Boqi." While Yuzhen was still feeling smug, two girls entered the exhibition hall. They seemed to know Boqi.

"It was during that street performance that day... You really came."

Boqi was also incredulous to see the two of them; they had actually braved the heavy rain to come see his performance.

"Are you here to see the band finish their performance?"

Yu-ma and Hoshika understood, so they pulled Hiroi down from the stair railing to prevent her from blocking the way.

"Yes, we are fans of Pochettino, and these are our tickets."

"We look forward to your performance that will blow away the typhoon."

Yuuma took the tickets they handed him, and at the same time, he felt as if he heard Boqi talking to herself. He turned to look at Boqi and found that there seemed to be a powerful aura around her, as if it could even dispel the typhoon outside.

"Have we mistaken someone for someone else?"

The two fans, seeing Pochi like this for the first time, began to doubt themselves.

"Sorry, she does that sometimes."

He quickly explained to the two hard-won fans who had joined the band, hoping not to leave a bad impression.

After the casual chat, the band returned to the rehearsal room for final preparations. Since several bands couldn't make it, they would be the first to perform.

Yuma and Hoshika sat at the bar. Hiroi also sat down next to Hoshika. Since he couldn't drink, Hiroi toned down his behavior a bit, at least he didn't shout anymore.

Have you ever heard the first band to close the show?

"No, and I'm not interested."

"Yes, it doesn't sound interesting at all."

Hearing people talking about the band ending, Yuma subconsciously glanced at Hoshika next to her, but she seemed completely unconcerned.

"You didn't react at all."

"This is a common occurrence, isn't it normal for there to be no reaction?" Xingge continued staring at her phone screen, holding a box of apple juice in her hand. "Or are you looking for a reaction from me?"

Yuma glanced at it; the straw tip was already bitten flat, and the empty juice box was crushed. Although she was still being stubborn, Ijichi Hoshika was definitely nervous right now.

"Calm down, it's about to begin."

Yu Zhen pulled out a box of apple juice from somewhere and placed it in front of her.

"You don't need to tell me. No, I've always been..."

"Ah, it's starting, it's starting."

Xingge, who was interrupted, was not angry and looked towards the stage.

The stage lights came on.

The performance started awkwardly; they were too nervous. Once the performance began, Nijika's drumming was out of sync, Kita made many mistakes, Ryo was out of sync with Nijika, and Pochi kept his head down. They didn't perform at the level they had a few days ago.

"Someone has left."

Xingge looked calmly at the closing band on stage, but the empty juice box in her hand was crushed again, and her heart was far from calm.

“This is unavoidable; their condition is far worse than it was a few days ago.” Yuzhen stared at Boqi, noticing that something was wrong with Boqi. “There are still two songs left; let’s see if they can get back on track…”

Yuma was interrupted by the sound of a guitar before she could finish speaking.

Although Pochi still didn't look up, she suddenly delivered a high-quality impromptu performance. The others immediately followed suit, quickly adjusting their rhythm and starting the second song.

"That's amazing." Yuzhen stared at Boqi on the stage for a while before she came to her senses.

"Can Ijichi-senpai do it?" Hiroi was unusually serious for a moment.

"I used to be able to, but I haven't played it for many years."

"She truly deserves the title of guitar hero; her technique is top-notch."

Hiroi was still trying to process Yuuma's praise. However, Yuuma didn't tell her about Pochi; that girl was loose-lipped and might accidentally reveal Pochi's secret when she got drunk.

Boqi was unaware that her vest had fallen off after the performance, and she and everyone else were immersed in joy backstage.

"The rain has stopped. It really was a performance by the typhoon." Yuzhen came back from outside. "Let's have a celebration party at my izakaya upstairs. It's on me tonight."

"Yay! Kenzaki-senpai is so generous." Hiroi naturally wouldn't miss the chance to drink for free, and she was the first to rush out of the performance hall.

"You pay for it yourself."